Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Underground
The “underground,” the “dark cellar” from which the Underground
Man claims to be writing, is a symbol for his total isolation from
society. He feels rejected and shut out from the society to which
he is supposed to belong, and he imagines that he is viewing the
world through cracks in the floorboards. The Underground Man often
claims, however, to prefer the underground to the real world above.
He treasures the space the underground gives him to exert his individuality—one
of the few things he possesses.
St. Petersburg
The city of St. Petersburg serves as the backdrop for Notes
from Underground and many of Dostoevsky’s other works.
The Underground Man makes frequent negative references to the city’s
climate, culture, and cost of living. His primary complaint is that
the city is artificial: he describes it as an “abstract and intentional
city,” implying that nothing about the city feels natural or real.
St. Petersburg is, in the Underground Man’s eyes, rigidly systematized, bureaucratized,
and alienating. St. Petersburg is an “artificial”
city in a sense: it was built from scratch starting in 1703 by
decree of Tsar Peter the Great, who hoped that the new city would
become a “window on Europe.” In 1713, St.
Petersburg became the capital of Russia, but it never shook its
origin as an artificial city. Peter the Great’s desire to bring
more European culture into Russia stimulated the Russian captivation
with Western culture that Dostoevsky frequently criticized. For
Dostoevsky, then, St. Petersburg is doubly artificial: not only
was it built to order, but it also symbolizes the artificiality
of the Russian adoption of European culture.
The Crystal Palace
The real Crystal Palace, a vast exhibition hall of glass
and iron, was built in London for the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The structure used the most advanced materials and technology available
at the time. For progressive thinkers of the era, the idea of a
crystal palace represented the ideal living space for a utopian
society based on reason and natural laws. The Underground Man says
he despises the idea of the crystal palace because he cannot stick
his tongue out at it. By this he means that the blind, obstinate
faith in reason that the crystal palace represents ignores the importance
of individuality and personal freedom. However, the Underground
Man seems to feel this way only about the crystal palace as envisioned
by utopian thinkers, describing their palace as a “chicken coop”
posing as a crystal palace. A real crystal palace would celebrate
truth and harmony without reducing the complexities of human nature
to confining mathematical laws, but the Underground Man cannot imagine its
existence.
Money
For the Underground Man, money is a symbol of power. The
Underground Man’s poverty keeps him from feeling socially or even
morally equal to others. He is deeply ashamed when he has to borrow money.
In the few circumstances when the Underground Man attempts to exert
his power, he is giving or withholding money. He tries to break
Apollon’s pride by withholding his wages, and he thrusts money into
Liza’s hands as she leaves his apartment in a deliberate attempt
to assert that she is still nothing but a prostitute.
